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The news and views in two strands (based on the work that we do):
1. Conveyancing property to conveyancingproperty.blogspot.com
2. Wills and Estates, Probate work to wills-probate.blogspot.com

Items that don't quite fit into these categories are on this page.

17 May 2009

@luchetti_law on Twitter

Like Mosman Council..
mosman.nsw.gov.au/web/external/twitter
..we are also aware of the changing nature of communication. Our use of Twitter will be influenced by our client's response to it. At the moment we think that people who have the care of an older relative may welcome having this access to our services.

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07 November 2008

NSW Government portal - Life Events

This site includes links for the following topics:
Buying a property, selling a property, investment properties, building & renovating;
Moving House - local services, moving from interstate, from overseas, utilities, visas;
Retiring - leisure for seniors, finance in your retirement, leaving the workforce, health;
Caring for Others - help for carers, physically impaired, the aged;
Death & Bereavement - dying with dignity, death, bereavement, wills & legal issues
and [more..]

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04 August 2008

Assessing decision-making ability

Correctly identifying whether someone is capable of making their own decisions is fundamental to the protection of their human rights.
Anyone who needs to assess decision-making capacity, such as friends, family or social workers, must consider the particular elements of the legal test specific to the decision.
For instance, in assessing whether someone has the capacity to make their own financial decisions, you will need to consider two questions.
First, is the person capable of managing their own property and affairs?
They don’t have to be able to manage them in the best possible way, they just have to be able to manage them. Issues to consider include:
A. whether the person is able to deal in a fairly capable way with the ordinary regular dealings in life so as to provide for their own welfare and anyone dependent on them,
B. whether they understand their assets and outgoing expenses, and,
C. whether they can manage their money to provide food, clothing, medicine and other necessities.
Second, if they can’t manage their affairs, is there a risk that they may be disadvantaged or harmed, or their money or property wasted or lost?
In addressing capacity it is important to avoid discrimination. Don’t assume a person lacks capacity based on age, appearance, disability, behaviour or any other condition or characteristic.
Before concluding lack of capacity, ensure that everything possible has been done to support the person to make a decision.
See the full article in the PDF file
../2008/news2008_3.pdf

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01 December 2007

Executors, Probate and the Summer Season

Be prepared for summer family get-togethers. If you are an Executor of an Estate this means that you can expect to be asked questions by the beneficiaries.
Make sure you know these dates (or possible dates): Notice of intended application for probate; Probate; Notice of intended distribution.
Will there be an interim distribution? There often is so, when will it be likely to happen and when can the final distribution be made?
Arrange a progress report from your solicitor along with a copy of the Estate account or Trust statement. Check if you need an updated one closer to the date of the family gathering.
The Fast Answers on Estates from the Law Society has more..

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02 July 2007

Health care decisions

Every person has the right to refuse (or accept) medical treatment, but the difficulty arises when you wish to ensure that you receive the treatment that you want when you are not able to make your preferences clear.
Also you need to make your wishes about your future health care clear while you still have what is called "capacity". Some informal ways of doing this are by making your wishes known to friends, relatives and your doctor, and by writing your wishes down.
There are also formal, legal ways to make sure that your wishes are respected. These are called; enduring guardianship and advanced health care directives or living wills. See us to draw these up for you or see the following links for further information: lawsociety.com.au
It is a Living Thing [luchettilawyers.com.au/itsalivingthing.asp]

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20 March 2007

Caring for an older family member

There is an association for relatives and friends who are caring for people with a disability, mental illness, chronic condition or who are frail aged.
Carers NSW produces several fact sheets with information about support for carers, financial assistance and legal issues.
Topics include:
* Caring for an older person
survivingthemaze.org.au/..CaringNsw
* Dealing with Hospitals
survivingthemaze.org.au/...bcfcHospitalnsw
* Considering Residential Care
survivingthemaze.org.au/...consideringnsw
* Caring for someone in Residential Care
survivingthemaze.org.au/...BCFCResiCare
The information is sometimes specific to NSW and the full list can be seen at the CarersNSW site:
carersnsw.asn.au/infosupport
For other states see:
survivingthemaze.org.au/BCFC


140 page PFD file

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20 February 2007

Emails when you die

When contemplating a will think about how people can be contacted about your death.
If you live a life that uses a lot of email then you may have to leave your passwords where your executor can find it.
They may need to access your inbox (or contacts list) to let your friends know that you've died. If the email account is a free one then this may have to happen urgently before the account is deleted.
smh.com.au/.../what-happens-to-your-emails-when-you-die
Update:
Keeping important records where they can be found in case of your mental decline or after you are gone.
That once meant storing papers in a safe or a file cabinet at home, in a safe-deposit box or with a trusted adviser. Even if the record keeping was spotty, there was a paper trail, starting with bills and statements that showed up in the mail.
But that trail has become harder to follow as more people manage their finances online.
nytimes.com/../your-money/estate-planning/

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12 February 2007

Describing Medical Symptoms

Many of our clients are of an age where they are getting aches and pains where none previously existed. So a tip like this may be welcome.
Make the most of your doctor's appointment by giving the doctor the information in the same format they learnt in medical school.
* Make an up-to-date patient profile for yourself
* Describe your basic reasons for the visit (in one or two sentences)
* Point to the location of your symptoms
* Use adjectives to describe your symptoms
* Rate your symptoms
* Recall the onset and timing of your symptoms
* Describe the setting and your condition when the symptoms occurred
* Explain what makes the pain better or worse
* List other things that happen at the same time
* Talk about your symptoms, not your diagnosis
[more..]

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01 August 2006

Living wills

How do you cover yourself for this possibility? You are lying motionless and stricken in a hospital bed. Important decisions need to be made about your treatment, your property or your life. But you can’t move, you can’t speak - you can’t make them.
Does that mean any wishes you might have had while you were conscious could be ignored or overridden? Is there any legal way of preparing for a situation like this?
Well, yes, there is ..[more]

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